13. Noah
NOAH
“ G ot a call from Dad,” I said, stepping into the kitchen, where Mom was slamming pots around, her face tight with anger. “They found George.”
“Finally,” she spat. “About time that man got what’s coming to him.”
I leaned against the door frame, watching her. “Dad wants to go and confront him.”
“Good,” she said, her hands trembling as she tightly gripped the counter. “I just don’t get it, Noah. What does he want from Zoey after all this?”
“Control, probably,” I muttered, my own hands balling into fists. “He can’t stand that she’s out of his reach now.”
“Well, he better learn to live with it,” she snapped, eyes blazing. “Because if he thinks he can waltz back into her life and terrorize her again...”
She didn’t need to finish. There was no way I’d let that happen.
A moment later, my father joined us in the kitchen. Mike and Lance, his two trusted betas, came in from the back porch. Dad looked at me, his jaw set with a determination I knew all too well.
“I want you there when I talk to him,” Dad said. “It’ll send a clear message.”
“Count me in,” I replied firmly.
“Good.” He turned and nodded at Mike and Lance. “Who’s with Zoey?”
“Graham and Steve,” Mike answered. “They’ll stay on her. Ky’s going to keep an extra vigilant eye on the kid if he comes to the gym later.”
“Let’s go, then,” Dad said.
We pulled up to George’s place, a nondescript house on the outskirts of Boldercrest.
“Stay sharp,” Dad murmured as we got out of the truck. Mike and Lance flanked us, their steps measured and deliberate.
We approached the door as a united front, ready for whatever came next.
I knocked on the door. We could hear him inside, but he took his sweet time to answer. This was his way of disrespecting the alpha and trying to gain control of the situation. Fool. All he was doing was proving himself the idiot he was.
George swung open the door, his lips curled into a smirk. “Well, now, I didn’t think I needed a welcoming committee. Didn’t realize I warranted such attention.”
“Trust me,” I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest, “it wouldn’t take all of us to handle you.”
The smirk slipped from George’s face, replaced with a cold stare. “Is that a challenge, Noah?”
I took a step forward, ready to wipe that smug look off his face once and for all, but my father’s arm barred my path.
“You didn’t ask permission to set foot in this town,” my father’s steely voice said.
“Permission?” George laughed dismissively, stepping out onto the porch now. “I don’t need your permission. I’m not on your precious pack lands.”
“Well, see, now that’s where you‘re wrong,” my father replied. “It doesn’t work like that here. The entire town of Boldercrest is under pack protection. That includes its residents. We know you’re a threat to at least two of them. You’re not welcome here.”
“Or what? You’ll call the police?” George sneered, his calculating gaze flickering between us. “Your little displays of loyalty are cute. But money…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. “Money talks louder than any backwater sense of community.”
“Stow it, George.” Dad’s tone was flat, unimpressed. “You might think you can buy your way through life, but here? In this town? We stick together. That’s worth more than your dirty money could ever buy.”
George’s hand tightened around the bills, then shoved them back into his pocket with a huff. “I expected as much from a bunch of mutts too proud to know when they’re beaten,” he spat.
My father took a step closer to him. “I didn’t appreciate you trying to sneak up on my son. This isn’t a game. You can’t make moves against my family and expect no consequences.”
“Consequences?” George balked, his chest puffing out in defiance. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I simply came to see my son.”
“Underhanded tactics don’t fly with us,” I snapped, unable to contain my disgust. “We protect our own.”
“Clearly,” George retorted, eyeing the betas behind us. “But don’t think for a second that this is over.”
“Stay in this town,” Dad said, his tone lowered, “and you’re asking for a challenge.” He jabbed a finger toward me, and every muscle in my body coiled with readiness.
George’s eyes locked onto mine. “You had your shot, Noah. Didn’t have the guts to take it.”
My wolf stirred under my skin, and I smirked.
With a subtle shift of focus, I dropped the invisible shroud—the protective shield my father had taught me when I was a child—and allowed a fraction of my wolf’s true strength to emerge.
It was like unclenching a fist, letting a sliver of my true presence bleed out into the open air.
George took an involuntary step back, his bravado ebbing away. The look on his face was almost worth holding my true power back all these years.
“Want a challenge, George?” I asked evenly, but there was no mistaking the edge to it. “I’m right here.”
His face paled, a stark contrast to his darkening eyes. He straightened up quickly, trying to mask the tremor I saw running through him. I wanted to push further, to show him exactly what he was up against, but my father gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head.
We had come to make a point, not to start a war.
“Smart men know when to walk away,” I said, fixing George with a steady gaze. “Guess we’ll see what you are.”
“You can’t keep me from my son,” George spat, the veins in his neck bulging with suppressed rage. “I have legal rights to Roland.”
“Legal rights?” I growled. “Should’ve thought about that before you started putting your hands on Zoey.”
George’s face twisted into a snarl, but it was clear the mention of his violence had struck a nerve. “I never?—”
“Enough,” my father cut him off, stepping forward with an authority that silenced us both. “You’ve been informed by my son, and now by me, the alpha of the Boldercrest pack. Zoey and Roland are under our protection. If you go near them, the consequences will be severe.”
George’s fists clenched at his sides, his body rigid with fury.
“Take the legal route if you really care about seeing your son,” Dad continued. “But only a monster would try to rip a child away from a good mother. We’ll stand with Zoey through any court battle you bring.”
The words hung heavy in the air, a promise laced with iron.
George’s glare could have cut through steel, but there was a flicker of uncertainty behind those cold green eyes.
He knew what he was up against, and for the first time, it seemed to truly sink in.
Dad had made it clear: there were no loopholes here, only the law of the pack.
“That bitch will pay for taking my heir,” George hissed.
I didn’t think, I just moved, closing the distance until we were chest to chest, my height forcing him to tilt his head back to meet my glare. “You even think about hurting Zoey or Roland?—”
“Stand down,” Dad’s order cut through the tension.
I hesitated, every muscle tensing, ready to defend them with everything I had. But I held back, meeting George’s hateful gaze with a silent vow of protection. The air around us was thick with his fear and loathing. He stank of malevolence.
“Fine,” George spat bitterly. “I’ll leave at nightfall.”
We all knew it was a lie, as transparent as the tremor in his hand. But we let him have that small concession for now.
As we turned to leave, my eyes locked with his once more. His stare was a challenge, a dare for me to cross the line. If this was the battle he wanted, I was more than ready to bring the storm.
The four of us turned our backs on him and got into the truck. Our lack of fear probably pissed him off a little more. It was petty, perhaps, but it gave me a ton of satisfaction.
We were a few blocks away when I broke the silence. “Dad, there’s something about that threat...”
He raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
“I have to take the oath, officially become the next alpha, before I can step in for you in any challenge,” I said. “You know that.”
He nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. “I’m aware. But after what he felt back there”—he motioned vaguely towards the house we’d left behind—“you think he’s actually going to test those waters? George isn’t an idiot.”
“Isn’t he?” I replied skeptically. “He’s got no successor of fighting age. If he thinks his money and connections can get him out of anything?—”
“Then he’s sorely mistaken here,” Dad said with a note of finality. “It was a bluff, sure. But if it comes down to it, you’ll take your oath. I don’t suspect he’d be foolish enough to want a real fight with you. Not after sensing even a fraction of your strength.”
“Let’s hope he values his life more than his ego.” I looked back, half-expecting to see George following us. I wouldn’t put it past him.
“Smart or not, we’ll be ready,” Dad assured me, the confidence in his tone bolstering my own resolve. We both knew the kind of man George was, and we would do whatever it took to protect our pack and their family.
I paced my living room, the conversation with George replaying in my head. The anger bubbled up again, and I clenched my fists. I needed to see Zoey.
“Easy,” I muttered to myself, trying to calm the storm inside. My wolf prowled just beneath the surface, his fury zinging through my blood. He wanted blood for the threat against our mate.
I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. He and I had a power most others couldn’t comprehend, and that made us a dangerous force.
“Control,” I whispered. That’s what mattered now. Keeping Zoey safe, even from the darkest parts of myself.
I grabbed my phone, the screen’s glow the only light in the dark room. My thumb hovered over the keypad, hesitation clawing at my insides. I had to tell her, didn’t I? Not only that George was here, but every fiber of my being screamed that Zoey should know who—what—I was.
Fear gripped me. Fear that she’d see me as a monster.
“Can’t hide forever,” I murmured, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. She deserved someone without claws and fangs lurking beneath the surface.